WAR  VESSELS  IN  THE  EAST  RIVER 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/instantaneousvieOOwitt 


YACHTS  RACING 


EXCURSION  STEAMER  „C  O  L  U  MBI  A". 


SCHOONER  &  YACHT. 


„  BREEZY  AND  SLEEPY.' 


BUSY  TUGBOATS 


FLOATING  GRAIN  ELEVATOR. 


ST  E  AM  ER,  ALASKA': 


A  FOUR    MASTED  SCHOONER. 


E  AM  YAC  HT/(ATAL  AN  TA"  PASSING  STEVENS 


POINT 


25* 


iEx  Htbrtja 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


-t '  'Tort  nivuw  ^4m/lerd<im.  oj>  Je  JAanhatatus 


"When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
" Ever' thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


PC  /  :.<i 


INSTANTANEOUS  VIEWS 

—OF- 

NEW  YORK  HARBOR. 


New  York's  predominant  position  as  one  of  the  great  eommercial  centres  of 
the  world  depends  principally  on  its  excellent  location  for  maritime  traffic. 
Evidently,  the  Dutch  traders  who  selected  in  1610  the  southern  part  of  Man- 
hattan Island  for  a  settlement,  laying  so  the  foundation  of  the  future  metro- 
polis of  the  New  World,  had  been  fully  aware  of  the  advantages  this  site 
offered  for  mercantile  pursuits.  It  may  be  considered  doubtful,  however,  if 
any  vision  of  futurity  presented  to  the  minds  of  those  pioneer  merchants  the 
present  importance  and  celebrity  of  their  first  settlement  in  America, 

The  harbor  of  New  York,  formed  by  the  Upper  and  Lower  New  York 
Bay,  the  Hudson  and  East  Rivers,  has  few  equals  in  dimensions  and  natural 
beauty.  The  outer  bar  begins  at  Sandy  Hook,  a  bare,  low  peninsula,  eighteen 
miles  from  the  Battery  on  the  South  end  of  the  city,  and  is  crossed  by  two 
ship  channels  of  considerable  depth,  which  admit  vessels  of  the  greatest 
draught.  A  few  miles  farther  up  the  shores  of  Long  Island  and  Staten  Is- 
land approach  within  a  mile  of  each  other,  forming  a  strait,  the  Narrows,  by 
which  the  inner  bay  communicates  with  the  outer  or  maritime  bay.  Forts 
Wadsworth  and  Tompkins,  on  the  verge  of  the  Staten  Island  shore,  and  Fort 
Hamilton  on  Xhe  Long  Island  shore  are  supposed  to  protect  in  the  case  of 
war  this  national  gateway  from  the  ocean,  but  being  rather  antiquated  and 
badly  armed,  they  would  hardly  fulfill  that  requirement.  In  fact,  compe- 
tent military  men  assert,  that  New  York  City  would  be  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  an  enemy,  as,  under  the  existing  circumstances,  any  modern  man-of-war 
could  easily  force  its  way  through  the  Narrows  or  shell  the  city  from  the 
Lower  Bay.  The  question  of  a  better  system  of  coast  and  harbor  defence 
has  lately  been  often  brought  before  the  nation,  and  will  have  sooner  or  later 
to  be  solved. 

Nothing  contributes  more  to  facilitate  the  maritime  commerce  of  New 
York  than  its  situation  amidst  the  stately  waters  of  the  Hudson— popularly 
known  at  this  point  as  the  North  River— and  the  East  River,  the  latter  an 
arm  of  the  sea.  or  a  continuation  of  Long  Island  Sound — which  afford  an 


1 


available,  triangularly-shaped  water-front  of  25  miles  in  length,  densely  lined 
with  piers,  warehouses,  grain-elevators,  dry-docks,  basins,  etc.  The  water- 
fronts of  the  neighboring  cities,  Brooklyn,  Jersey  City  and  Hoboken  belong, 
in  every  essential  sense,  to  New  York.  Extensive  docks  have  also  been  re- 
cently erected  at  Staten  Island,  Bay  Ridge  and  other  available  points  on  the 
Bay. 

The  natural  advantages  of  the  harbor  do  not  require  such  radical  and 
extensive  improvements  as  were  made  in  the  leading  European  sea-ports, 
nevertheless  the  constantly  increasing  traffic  created  in  recent  years  a  demand 
for  better  accommodations.  The  wharves  and  the  buildings  on  them  are  of 
the  most  primitive  style,  presenting  a  very  picturesque  aspect,  but  lacking 
greatly  in  convenience.  A  permanent  river- wall,  so  located  as  to  widen  the 
river  street  considerably,  and  a  series  of  piers  of  ample  dimensions  and 
adequate  construction,  allowing  an  unobstructed  passage  of  the  water,  and 
covered  with  suitable  sheds,  are  now  in  progress  of  erection.  The  dilapitated 
old  piers  and  tumbledown  rookeries  of  warehouses  will  gradually  disappear  and 
with  them  a  good  deal  of  the  picturesqueness  that  now  surrounds  the  water- 
front. 

The  trade  in  New  York  Harbor  has  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  risen  to 
really  astonishing  dimensions.  The  number  of  vessels  of  all  descriptions  en- 
gaged in  foreign  and  coastwise  trade  entering  and  clearing  the  harbor  in 
1883  was  11,646.  Numerous  steamship  companies  carry  on  an  immense 
passenger  and  merchandise  traffic  between  New  York  and  European  ports, 
the  West  Indies,  Bermuda  Islands,  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America.  Be- 
sides this  an  immense  fleet  of  steamers  and  ferry-boats  plies  the  Bay,  Long 
Island  Sound  and  the  Hudson,  bringing  daily  many  thousands  of  passengers 
to  and  from  the  city. 

In  making  a  general  survey  of  the  harbor  and  its  varied  picturesque  associ- 
ations, we  take  best  a  standpoint  on  the  roof  of  the  new  Produce  Exchange 
on  Whitehall  Street,  facing  Bowling  Green,  the  historical  spot,  where  the 
Dutch  settlers  erected  the  first  buildings  of  "New  Amsterdam,"  the  New 
York  of  to-day.  From  here  we  obtain  a  view  of  the  city,  the  immense  Bay 
and  the  surrounding  beautiful  couutry,  that  will  remain  ineffaceably  stamped 
upon  the  memory.  Just  below,  the  blue  waters  of  the  rivers  girding  the  city, 
fairly  swarm  with  coming  and  going  steamers,  stately  sailing  vessels,  squat 
ferry-boats,  crowded  with  passengers,  dingy  sloops  and  schooners,  fishing  and 
oyster  boats,  dainty  yachts,  row  boats,  here  dodging,  there  chasing  each  other, 
the  whole  seemingly  an  inextricable  chaos  and  yet  guided  and  controlled  by 
strict  rules. 

Looking  towards  East  the  eye  strikes  the  gigantic  dimensions  of  the  great 
Suspension  Bridge,  the  Eighth  Wonder  of  the  world,  which  spans  in  one  bold 
leap,  1600  feet  long,  the  East  River  from  shore  to  shore,  connecting  New 
York  with  its  great  suburb,  Brooklyn.     The  total  length  of  the  Bridge  with 


•2 


its  huge  viaducts  measures  GOUu  feet.  As  far  as  the  eye  reaches  in  the  round 
expands  a  vast  sea  of  streets  and  buildings,  charmingly  dotted  with  squares, 
gardens  and  parks— the  cities  of  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Long  Island  City, 
Jersey  City,  Hoboken  and  numerous  villages,  all  of  which  are  closely  con- 
nected with  each  other  by  the  interests  of  business  and  daily  life,  and  could 
almost  be  considered  one  gigantic  city. 

Glancing  over  the  immense,  beautiful  Bay  we  observe  in  the  foreground 
charming  patches  of  green— Governor's,  Ellis'  and  Bedloe's  Islands.  The 
latter,  a  mere  bank  holding  a  fort,  will  be  the  site  of  the  colossal  statue  of 
Libert y,  the  gift  of  the  French  Nation,  a  testimonial  of  her  enthusiasm  for 
great  ideas  and  the  arts  and  of  a  corresponding  warm-hearted  conception  of 
the  outside  world.  Governor's  Island,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  East  River,  about 
a  mile  distant  from  the  Battery,  with  its  sweeping  green  glacis,  the  tiny  south 
battery,  Fort  Colombus  and  Castle  William  frowning  in  picturesque  useless- 
ness,  forms  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  harbor  sceneiy.  Ellis's  Island,  pro- 
jecting only  a  few  feet  above  the  water,  contains  nothing  but  a  large  powder 
magazine. 

Beautiful  Staten  Island,  charmingly  girded  with  green  hills  and  cosy 
cottages,  has  seen  days  of  great  prosperity,  but  gradually  lost  its  former  im- 
portance. To-day  it  appears  a  mere  abode  of  fishermen,  sailors  and  small 
shopkeepers  and  a  convenient  dormitory  for  New  Yorkers.  Behind  the  long- 
drawn  village  that  skirt  the. Bay  and  the  Kill  von  Kull  channel,  comprising 
New  Brighton,  Stapleton,  Tompkinsville,  Clifton,  etc.,  lies  a  "terra  incog- 
nita" given  over  to  slack  and  wasteful  farming,  or  even  worse,  to  the  sullen 
aggression  of  nature,  dispossessed  years  ago,  but  now  returning  in  the  shape 
of  weeds,  small  timber  and  coarse,  ruinous  underbrush.  On  all  sides  appear 
evident  signs  of  departed  prosperity.  The  people  who  formerly  lived  iuland 
have  either  gone  down  to  the  water  to  mingle  with  the  scaut  influx  of  newr- 
comers,  or  have  vanished  altogether,  leaving  rank  the  spots  which  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  were  beautiful  parks  and  gardens. 

Near  Stapleton,  inside  the  Narrows,  lie  the  Quarantine  buildings,  where 
all  vessels  coming  from  foreign  ports  lay  by,  until  the  Health  officer  has  fin- 
ished the  medical  examination  of  the  passengers,  and  given  either  a  permit  of 
landing  or  ordered  the  vessel  in  quarantine  at  Gravesend  Bay.  On  Hoffman 
and  Dix  Islands,  both  artificial  formations,  composed  chiefly  of  stone  ballast 
thrown  overboard  outside  the  Narrows,  stand  quarantine  hospitals. 

Long  Island  has  also  in  the  course  of  time  undergone  many  changes, 
but  instead  of  having  deteriorated,  like  Staten  Island,  it  has  gained  in  pros- 
perity, alas!  at  the  cost  of  its  former  romanticness.  Some  fifty  years  ago  the 
green  shores  of  Long  Island  quietly  rested  almost  in  nature's  beauty  decorate. 
Here  and  there  a  farm  house  or  a  villa,  and  a  few  windmills,  brown  with 
age,  varied  the  scene.     Brooklyn  had  not  yet  descended  from  its  lofty 


3 


heights  to  spread  itself  over  the  sandy  acres  in  all  the  ugliness  of  common- 
place, becoming  thus  in  size  the  third  city  in  the  Union.  The  wonderful 
effect  which  Brooklyn  Heights  then  had  upon  the  beauty  of  the  Bay  has  now 
almost  vanished.  The  pebbled  beach  at  the  foot  of  the  heights,  once  a  fa- 
vorite bathing  place,  had  to  give  way  to  the  requirements  of  commerce,  and 
its  sides  are  converted  into  dingy  docks  and  warehouses. 


THE  BATTERY, 

At  the  extreme  southern  part  of  the  city,  looking  out  upon  the  Bay,  was  the 
site  of  a  fort  in  the  early  years  of  the  City,  the  Castle  Garden  of  to-day. 
Later  on  it  was  converted  into  a  Summer  Garden  and  Opera  House,  whence 
it  derives  its  now  not  very  appropriate  name.  Many  celebrated  public  men, 
amongst  them  Lafayette,  when  he  revisited  the  country  in  1824,  were  given 
receptions  at  this  historic  spot.  The  famous  Jenny  Lind  made  here  her  first 
appearance  before  the  American  public.  Since  1855  Castle  Garden  serves  as 
the  landing  depot  for  immigrants,  the  poorer  class  of  which  often  receive 
shelter  here,  while  preparing  for  departure  into  the  interior  of  the  country. 
A  labor  bureau  connected  with  the  establishment  furnishes  many  with  em- 
ployment in  or  outside  the  city. 

The  Battery  was  in  former  years  a  fashionable  promenade,  and  many  of 
the  wealthiest  and  socially  distinguished  people  in  the  town  lived  in*  the 
lower  part  of  Greenwich  Street,  State  Street  and  around  the  Bowling  Green. 
Nowadays  this  whole  district  comprises  nothing  but  large  business  houses  of 
many  monotonous  stories,  the  cheapest  kind  of  boarding-houses  and  saloons. 
The  beautifully  laid  out  Battery  Park,  embracing  15  acres,  still  retains  some 
of  its  former  distinction,  and  presents  a  magical  aspect  at  night,  when  the 
electric  lamps  glitter  through  the  trees  and  bushes  like  so  many  glow-worms. 

Anchored  to  the  massive  sea  wall  which  protects  the  Battery,  floats  an 
immense  public  bathing  establishment,  during  the  hot  season  daily  frequent- 
ed by  thousands.  The  Battery  swarms  at  all  times  with  newly  arrived  im- 
migrants, sight -seers  and  loungers,  who  gaze  with  apparent  interest  on  the 
bewildering,  kaleidoscopic  scenes  that  have  made  New  York  Harbor  so 
famous. 

The  U.  S.  Barge  Office,  adjoining  Castle  Garden,  a  new,  well-built  edi- 
fice in  Byzantine  style,  serves  as  the  headquarters  of  the  various  boats  used  in 
the  revenue  service.  A  pavilion  attached  to  it  has  been  lately  used  as  the 
landing  depot  for  cabin  passengers  from  transatlantic  steamers. 


NORTH  RIVER. 
Perhaps  no  part  of  New  York  Harbor  presents  a  more  animated  and 
pleasing  sight  than  the  North  River.     Hundreds  of  vessels,  highly  miscel- 
laneous in  their  composition,  ply  the  river  in  all  directions,  or  are  moored  to 


4 


the  docks,  loading  or  unloading  their  cargoes.  Sloops  and  schooners  of  an- 
tiquated cut,  with  battered  hulls  and  patched  sails,  glide  lazily  over  the 
water,  easily  overtaken  by  puffing,  hard-working  tugs,  having  long  lines  of 
canal  boats,"  barges  or  scows  in  tow.  The  canal  boats,  which  receive  the 
freight  of  the  Erie  Canal,  are  provided  with  all  the  comforts  for  a  small 
family,  and  present  a  characteristic  sight  with  playing  children  on  deck, 
strings  of  family  washing  fluttering  in  the  breeze,  cradles,  cats,  dogs,  flower- 
pots, etc. 

A  highly  interesting  feature  in  the  North  River  scenery  consists  in  the 
numerous  passenger  steamers,  going  daily  and  nightly  up  and  down  the  Hud- 
son or  the  Long  Island  Sound— real  leviathans,  with  tier  on  tier  of  comfort- 
able staterooms,  huge  saloons  and  diningrooms,  fitted  up  in  gorgeous  style. 
Gayly  decorated  excursion  steamers,  crowded  with  passengers,  who  often 
enjoy  on  the  upper  deck  dancing  to  the  tunes  of  a  band,  enliven  in  the 
summer  months  constantly  the  waters.  The  "Columbia"  represents  a  fine 
specimen  of  this  latter  craft.  Some  of  them,  in  keeping  up  with  the  fashion 
or  craze  of  the  time,  have  even  been  provided  with  skating  rinks. 

In  the  North  River  concentrates  the  transatlantic  steamship  traffic. 
Both  riversides  are  densehy  lined  with  the  immense  docks  of  the  numerous 
steamship  companies,  all  of  which  have  a  fleet  of  admirably  equipped  and 
swift  vessels.  These  great  ocean  steamers  represent  the  triumph  of  marine 
architecture,  and  rival  in  comfort  any  first  class  hotel,  providing  also  ample 
accommodations  for  travelers  with  limited  means.  The  "Oregon,"  of  the 
Cunard,  the  ' '  Westernland, "  of  the  1  'Red  Star, "  the  '  'Hammonia, "  of  the  Ham- 
burg and  the  "Ems"  of  the  Bremen  line,  etc.,  vary  from  4000  to  8000  tons  and 
accommodate  each  over  1500  passengers.  They  perform  wonderful  feats  of 
speed.  The  "Oregon"  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  6  days  and  11  hours,  and  the 
shortest  trip  on  record  has  lately  been  made  by  the  "Etruria"  in  6  days  and  2 
hours.  Transatlantic  steamers  leave  and  arrive  daily,  often  5  or  6  at  one 
time.  The  parting  of  such  a  monster,  decked  with  flags  and  covered  with 
hundreds  of  cheering  and  saluting  passengers,  attracts  always  a  great  crowd 
on  the  wharves. 

A  ramble  along  the  docks  gives  an  insight  into  the  maritime  commerce 
of  New  York.  Stevedores,  athletic  men  with  bare  breasts  and  arms,  unload 
here  an  immense  four-masted  schooner,  that  brought  the  various  products  of 
the  tropics,  there  another  one,  moored  to  a  gigantic  floating  grain  elevator, 
receives  its  load  of  wheat.  Freight  steamers,  orange  schooners,  oyster  boats, 
fishing  smacks,  etc.,  empty  their  welcome  cargoes  in  kingly  profusion  on  the 
wharves,  from  where  they  are  shipped  inland  or  hauled  for  consumption  by 
the  capacious  stomach  of  the  metropolis  and  her  suburbs.  Thousands  of 
busy  people,  numberless  vehicles  of  all  description,  etc.,  throng  the  river 
street,  everywhere  contending  and  bustling  elements,  all  having  their  share 
of  the  gigantic  work  that  raised  New  York  to  such  a  proud  position  amongst 
the  emporiums  of  the  world. 


WAR  VESSELS  IN  THE  EAST  RIVER. 


The  scene,  as  here  pictured  occurred  on  the  memorable  24th  of  May,  1883, 
when  the  New  York  and  Brooklyn  Bridge  was  opened  to  traffic. 

The  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  on  the  south  shore  of  Wallabout  Bay, 
East  River,  embraces  a  total  area  of  144  acres,  including  a  mile  of 
splendid  wharfage.  Here  anchors  a  part  of  the  United  States  Navy,  consist- 
ing of  steam  frigates,  some  sailing  frigates,  sloops  of  war,  etc.,  vessels  of  an- 
tiquated construction  and  poor  armament,  the  last  remnants  of  a  once  efficient 
navy.  Efforts  to  raise  the  same  to  the  modern  standard  have  repeatedly 
failed.  If  picturesqueness  were  the  only  thing  desirable  in  a  man-of-war, 
our  rotten  ships  would  be  everything  needful. 


TYPES  OF  VESSELS. 

Our  instantaneous  views  present  a  number  of  vessels,  of  which  we  give 
the  main  characteristics: 

Here  we  have  a  ship.  It  has  a  bowsprit  and  three  masts:  a  main-mast, 
a  fore-mast  and  a  mizzen-mast,  each  of  which  being  composed  of  a  lower 
mast,  a  top-mast  and  a  topgallant  mast,  and  is  square  rigged. 

Barks  are  threemasted,  having  their  fore  and  main-masts  rigged  as  a  ship, 
and  her  mizzen-mast  as  a  schooner. 

Sclwoners  are  small,  sharpbuilt  vessels,  usually  having  two  masts,  with 
fore  and  aft  sails,  but  sometimes  carrying  a  square  foresail,  square  fore-top- 
sail and  top-gallantsail.  Some  schooners  have  three  and  four  masts.  The 
rirst  schooner  ever  constructed  was  built  in  Gloucester,  Mass.,  in  1713,  and 
it  is  said  to  have  received  its  name  from  the  way  it  skipped  ("scooned") 
along  the  water. 

The  Yacht  among  boats  may  be  likened  to  the  fashionable  fine  lady  in 
contrast  to  a  robust  country  girl.  These  beautifully-shaped  crafts  are  used 
only  for  pleasure  trips,  racing  and  the  like,  being  often  fitted  up  with  the  ut- 
most elegance.  Of  late  steam  yachts  are  much  in  vogue.  A  representative 
specimen  of  this  class,  the  swift  and  gorgeous  ''Atalanta,"  belonging  to  a 
railroad  magnate,  has  cost  over  $300,000.  Yachting  as  carried  on  in  New 
York  befits  rich  men's  purses  only.  Twelve  yacht  clubs  have  their  head- 
quarters in  New  York  Harbor,  the  most  important  being  known  as  the  New 
York  Club,  which  has  an  estimated  valuation  of  vessels  amounting  to 
$3,000,000. 

The  catamaran  "Jessie"  represents  a  new  type  of  pleasure  sailboats.  -  \ 
She  is  an  almost  flat-bottomed  vessel,  with  two  hulls,  held  several  feet  apart 
by  connecting  rods,  and  (tarries  but  one  mast  and  bowsprit.     Such  vessels 
can  only  be  used  in  smooth  water,  where  they  perform  wonderful  feats  of 

speed. 


RIVER  SCENES. 


The  peculiar  and  individual  beauty  of  River  scenes  can  especial!}'  well 
be  observed  from  aboard  of  one  of  the  oddly  shaped  ferry-boats,  which  like 
enormous  turtles  cross  the  waters  about  New  York  in  all  directions.  Early 
in  the  morning,  when  the  fog  still  spreads  over  the  waters  and  the  fashionable 
portions  of  the  cities  are  not  yet  aroused  from  their  slumbers,  the  first  ferry- 
boat passengers  already  arrive,  drowsy  looking  toilers  whose  vocation  calls 
for  early  hours,  and  hundreds  of  milk  and  provision  wagons  file  into  the  boats. 
When  the  sun  appears  above  the  hill  tops,  casting  long  bars  of  gold  across  the 
gently  rolling  waters,  the  busy  life  in  the  thoroughfares  leading  to  the  ferries, 
gradually  rises  to  a  roaring  racket  and  din,  with  struggling  masses  of  carts  and 
drays,  shouting  drivers  and  thousands  of  pedestrians,  pushing  hastily  forward 
to  secure  a  comfortable  place  on  the  boats,  which  are  usually  crowded  to  their 
utmost  capacity.  A  trip  on  such  a  boat  in  the  bright  sunshine  and  the  refresh- 
ing breeze  of  a  summer  morning,  passing  hundreds  of  vessels  of  all  descrip- 
tions, the  picturesque  waterfronts  full  in  view,  impresses  one  deeply  with 
the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  New  York  Harbor.  Some  of  the  ferry-boat 
routes  on  the  Hudson  River  have  a  length  of  several  miles,  offering  a  delight- 
ful sail  amid  charming  scenery,  and  at  such  a  small  cost,  that  even  the  poor- 
est can  indulge  in  it.  On  evenings  during  the  heated  term  these  routes  are 
frequented  by  many  hundreds  for  the  sole  purpose  of  an  airing.  Such  a  sail 
is  highly  fascinating.  Lights  flash  in  all  directions  over  the  water,  and  from 
time  to  time  the  white  sails  of  ships  glide  ghost-like  by,  while  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  thousands  of  street  lamps  glow  in  the  hazy  air.  On  winter  days 
the  scene  presents  a  different  aspect.  Heavy  fog  settles  often  for  days  on 
the  rivers,  and  the  ferry-boats  move  along  with  utmost  precaution  to  avoid 
collisions.  Huge  floating  ice-blocks  make  the  passage  often  quite  dangerous, 
but  the  pilots  are  so  skilled  and  careful,  that  accidents  rarely  occur. 

A  trip  up  the  East  River  and  the  Long  Island  Sound,  passing  along  the 
various  islands,  with  their  charming  parks  and  green  lanes,  offers  enchanting 
pieces  of  river-side  landscape.  On  a  holiday,  the  river  present-  a  gay  and 
lively  aspect.  Excursion  boats,  steam  launches  and  sailing  vessels,  laden  with 
pleasure  seekers,  fill  the  water  on  all  sides.  Blackwells  Island,  120  acres  in 
extent,  contains  a  number  of  public  institutions— the  penitentiary,  almshouse, 
hospitals,  etc.  "Hell  Gate,"  a  short  distance  farther  up,  was  long  the  terror 
of  all  vessels  entering  or  leaving  the  harbor  by  wTay  of  Long  Island  Sound. 
It  was  a  collection  of  rocks  in  the  channel,  which  offered  so  much  resistance 
to  the  tides  as  to  cause  a  succession  of  whirlpools  and  rapids.  A  few  years 
ago  the  largest  rocks  were  blasted  by  dynamite,  and  the  few  remaining  will 
soon  be  removed.  Ward's  Island  divides  the  Harlem  from  the  East  River. 
Randall's  Island,  the  last  of  the  group,  is  separated  from  Ward's  Island  by  a 
narrow  channel.  The  gem  of  Long  Island  Sound,  Glen  Island,  may  be  con- 
sidered the  most  charming  resort  for  the  day  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York. 


J 


♦ 


►A4 


fftft 


